Glimpses and Glances
by Virtute et Armis
Summary: A collection of snap shots from an alternate universe. Itachi and Sasuke are brothers, but what lurks behind such an innocent relation?
1. Cemetery

**This is a short scene of an AU life**.

It was written while listening to September by Daughtry, so I guess that's where the idea really sprung from.

Might add another scene...later...

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Ever. It sucks, I know.

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><p><em>Cemetery<em>

The sun is warm on his neck. He can feel the rays lull sleepily against his skin as the afternoon fades to early evening. The pages of his book are dim now and he's struggling to read. He presses the book closer until that's all there is. No longer is there a graveyard beyond: a cemetery of so many who share his last name. The two that stand firmest in his memory are obscured by his position, their headstones supporting his back.

In his indulgence, Sasuke hasn't sensed the approaching presence of his brother. Itachi settles precariously on their mother's softly curved tombstone, which is the complement to their father's sharply angled monument. Itachi can feel the heat of the stone through his pant legs and carefully positions his self so Sasuke is situated between his legs. Then, bracing himself, he leans forward and wraps his arms around his brother, holding him tightly to his chest.

"I missed you today." Itachi admits, pressing his nose into the tender nook behind his brother's ear. He can smell the shampoo he had bought for them. He can smell the detergent that took them a week to agree on. Sasuke harrumphs but nonetheless leans into the touch. "Where were you?" Itachi asks.

"Here." Sasuke replies as if it is the most obvious thing in the world. Is it? Itachi wonders. Should he have known his brother would be here instead of wasting his time fearing more tragic ends? His grip almost turns harsh as he entertains his own impotence, but relaxes moments before he can crush his dear brother.

"I should have known." Itachi manages, breathing in greedily the scent of his brother. What if he had lost him, too? What would he do?

Die: he'd probably die.

"I love you." Itachi murmurs passionately. In return, he feels the cool touch of his brother's fingers on his forearms, stroking his human restraints. Itachi eventually removes himself, placing a soft kiss on the crown of his brother's head. He then proceeds to slide from the head stone and to sit beside his brother. From this angle they are face to face and Itachi will forever be shocked, from now and forever, that his brother is his height.

Sasuke, noticing the dubious look, raises his hand. He presses two fingers to the center of Itachi's forehead. Instantly, both break into a round of laughter. Sasuke's book lays neglected by his leg and Itachi grabs Sasuke's hand, encasing the cold digits between his warm hands. Gently, they press their foreheads together and dream of a past that, so distorted by wanting, isn't really their past at all.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."


	2. Butterfly

Second Installment.

Woot!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

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><p>The rain falls lazily on the roof. The symphony of the storm lulls him into semi-awareness. The softness of the bed, the warmth of the air, and the cold counter-note of the window all serve to create a cocoon. Maybe, he'll emerge as a butterfly- a butterfly with black wings and red accents, all intertwined with intricate, white designs. He'll be beautiful and wretched and, somehow, justified (or is it justifiable?).<p>

The door groans before giving easy entrance to the intruder. But he's never an intruder, so Sasuke continues to think sublimely on his other existence. He will beat his wings in soft motions and only alight on the most beautiful flowers. He will sip nectar and bask in the sun. Soon enough, in his day dream, the rain filters in and suddenly his wings are damp and sticking; the sun obscured by heavy clouds. He sighs and suddenly he can't see beyond the white fog of his breath.

Itachi joins his brother, wrapping his warms arms around the rigid form. He can feel his brother relax, but the other's eyes remain locked on the outer world. Itachi can only see the pensive expression in the window that, for a moment, he mistakes for his own. "What are you thinking about?" He asks, stroking Sasuke's left shoulder slightly, his arms still locked.

"Being a butterfly." Sasuke admits, unabashed. Sasuke can feel the roll of his brother's laughter, which serves to relax his muscles. He rests his head on the crook of his brother's arm, the stroking fingers now caught within the human cage.

"We're Japanese," Itachi begins, rolling his head to the side so that his forehead is pressed against Sasuke's exposed neck. He inhales deeply before continuing, "It was a Chinese Philosopher's dream to be a butterfly."

"He became a butterfly." Sasuke corrects, half-heartedly, and then his face becomes much more set, his mind searching for the story. "He became a butterfly and never knew if he was either once a man who dreamt of being butterfly or was always a butterfly that dreamt of being a man."

Itachi can feel the heat of Sasuke, pressing against his forehead and creeping down towards his nose and lips. He can feel one of Sasuke's hands touch his elbow, indirectly doing so as it scratches an itch on Sasuke's cheek. His captured hand moves to meet it and their fingers hook awkwardly. "Don't turn into a butterfly on me." Itachi demands, but immediately regrets his greediness. "Well, would you want to be a butterfly?"

"Only if you were one too Aniki." Sasuke concedes after a few thoughtful moments. Somewhere, maybe the room off, Itachi's phone begins ringing. Itachi extricates himself and goes in search of the obtrusive device. Sasuke, deciding he's hungry, makes his way to the kitchen.

_Maybe…_

Maybe he had been a butterfly that has gotten his wish to be man.

_Or maybe…_

Or maybe he'd rather have a peanut butter sandwich.

The rain continues for another two days.


	3. Curiosity or the Cat?

**Warnings:** Cursing and messed up portrayals

**Note**: Sasuke does his dream-talking in Italics and a few minor interjections in italics (emphasized by parentheses) and the opening exchange is a conversation

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><p><strong><span>Curiosity or the Cat?<span>**

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><p>How are you?<p>

Are you doing well?

Or are you doing poorly?

_Who The Fuck Cares?_

Is that what you're thinking?

I'm just curious.

_Curiosity killed the cat._

What killed you?

Was it curiosity or the cat?

_Leave me alone._

Do you want to be alone?

Do you like to be alone?

Or is it you want to be **lonely**?

_What's your problem?_

You: Me: who the fuck cares?

Who cares?

**Who cares?**

_..._

Silence never befits you.

It makes you look ugly, small, and victimized.

Do you hate yourself?

_Who cares?_

Who cares?

_Who the** fuck** cares?_

Was it curiosity or the cat?

Is it alone or lonely?

Come on, big boy, answer me!

_Fuck you._

Haha: just a question of where and when.

And I'll do it.

Trust me, I'll do it.

He wakes up with a body-racking shudder; the voice continues echoing in his head. _Where am I?_ He asks, mentally and to nobody in particular. Soon, though, he recognizes his room and settles down. Jesus Christ, what was wrong with him? Just a conversation and horrible flashes of…of…of…

"Sasuke?"

(_and_)

Itachi becomes visible in the doorway, the light from his adjacent room illuminating the space around him. A black mass within a lighted window: a Victorian silhouette: it's his _perfect _brother, Itachi Uchiha. "Are you alright?" He asks and Sasuke can just make out the redness of his mouth

"I'm fine," Sasuke grunts, sinking into his normal despondency. His eyes search out the black-out curtain he had recently fitted into his room. It seems that it's triggered these mind-numbing nightmares, but somehow he knew they were always there. Maybe, they just felt too guilty, too, to come out when there was even a hint of light. Maybe they regretted haunting him. Maybe, but it wasn't likely.

"If you need anything, you know where I am."

And Itachi disappears down the hall, taking all the light with him. Sasuke continues to stare at the curtain. Maybe, if he tore it down, they would leave?

_But…_

Does he want them to leave?

A part of him relishes these nightmares—indulges in these dark pleasures. Now, it's only his antagonist's voice, but what if all of him develops? No longer will he be forced to dissociate; he can face him head on (granted in a dream and therefore not at all confronting the matter, but _who the fuck cares?_). It's all the same, anyway, some sort of release (_indulgence_) he would never be able to execute otherwise.

Yet, there's the nagging insistence that _this just isn't right_.

But he's too tired.

He's too tired to move, to fight, to _care_; he surrenders to sleep, arguing anew with a coolly enraged, sardonically malicious Itachi.

Come on, Sasuke; was it curiosity or the cat?

Is it alone or lonely?

Or are you too scared to answer?

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><p>Hurray for weird dream sequences. If you missed the note above, Sasuke does his dream-talking in Italics and a few minor interjections in italics (emphasized by parentheses) I hope you like it, this one is more Sasuke's view anyway and might be a bit OOC for this series, but eh, whatevs<p>

I'm a little sad with the formatting on this site just because this story looks so much better in Word. Like Itachi's and Sasuke's part aren't separated by italics or not, but spacing (i.e. Itachi's lays to the left and Sasuke's to the right). Ah well, I like it anyway.


End file.
